course advice/bad last semester

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plumerias

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  1. Pre-Dental
Hey guys! I just finished my senior year but I'm staying for 1 more semester because I'm a non-science major and have to finish uni requirements. I'm stressing because I just had one of my worst semesters and I'm applying this summer. I took a medium/lighter load than usual because I took the DAT in the middle of the semester, but I got very sick + hit by personal issues that affected my ability to focus.

I ended up getting a B- in ecology (science gpa) and a C+ in a university requirement (neither science nor my major course). I think my gpa for the semester is going to be about a 3.2, my overall gpa is a 3.64 and science gpa is around a 3.41 after the damage is done. I took the DAT and got a 21 AA/20TS/19PAT. I'm very happy with my score but I'm just worried because I'm a non-science major and now it looks like I have a downward trend..

My next question is, should I continue to take more upper level courses in the fall? Another way to look at it: would it look bad if I stop taking science classes? I'm trying to figure out what to do in the fall, I have 3 more university requirements left for my major. If I don't have a full semester, I could probably get a decent job in the meantime. I've taken biochem I and ecology aside from the standard requirements. My choices would likely be cell structure and function (prereq for genetics and micro) and/or anatomy. (As I wrote this, I realized I may answer my own question when I look closer at specific dschool prereqs.. lol)

Thanks for your advice!
 
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Your GPA is still good enough for any state school, so I wouldn't sweat that. As for downward trend, 1 bad semester isn't really a trend. They understand that things happen sometimes, so as long as you explain to the admissions committee why that happened you shouldn't have a problem.

To your other question, I don't think it would look bad. Just make sure you get all your classes done by next cycle so your DAT score is still relatively fresh. And you'll need all new LORs if you apply next cycle isntead of this one. And make sure your shadowing hours and extracurriculars are looking good!
 
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